Aníbal Araujo had been brought up in the cosmopolitan sprawl of Sao Paulo, one of six children in a family that experienced its share of tragedy and sacrifice, but did so without complaint. They were a dutiful Catholic family, and it was only through the generosity of the Church that Aníbal was able to attend the Federal University of Goias to study medicine. She had shown a keen intellect, which would have been dulled without the attention and support of the local priest, Fra’Miguel. He encouraged her to join his tutoring group and the fifteen year old Aníbal was able to learn alongside young men from the local Catholic university. When she was accepted into Goias, Fra’Miguel sponsored her for a full scholarship.

Goias was 250km west of the capital, Brasilia, and nearly 900km from her home and family. After five years, Aníbal graduated and immediately began working for the Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health which was an imposing building associated with the University in Goias. She pursued new treatments for leprosy and wrote a key paper on ‘Molecular markers and immunological predictors of early leprosy progression’. During the presentation her paper, Aníbal caught the interest of a delegation of medical researchers attached to the Order of Malta, and was asked to join a delegation to a leprosy hospice in Nicaragua.

Two months later Aníbal was working as a volunteer near San Carlos, on the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The conditions were harsh and the hospice was still suffering the effects of a destructive hurricane. Every day she assisted with the delivery of MDT (multi-drug therapy) to combat the bacterium mycobacterium leprae, but as she worked she also witnessed the blatant theft of supplies and capital equipment. She was told by the other volunteers that such theft occurred everywhere. There was nothing that could be done.

Aníbal wasn’t convinced.

When a group of uniformed men arrived the next day and began to load up food supplies, medicines and communications equipment, Aníbal approached them and demanded they withdraw immediately. Their response was both surprising and chilling. The leader looked her up and down, cast a glance to her supervisor and then called his men to leave what they had gathered, and left.

Aníbal felt vindicated, but the looks on the other volunteers made her uncomfortable. It was as if she suddenly had the spectre of death over her. The patients stopped talking to her, except in the most basic manner; and her supervisor suggested she return to Brazil. That night Aníbal was unable to sleep as she thought about the retribution which must have been coming for her. She sat in her tent and clutched her crucifix, trying to think clearly and regain her confidence. God would not abandon her, as surely as she would never abandon the patients here.

When the uniformed men returned in three jeeps, one with a mounted machine gun, Aníbal felt her destiny calling. She moved to meet the men before they breached the sanctity of the hospice. If she was to die, she did not want others to share her fate.

The jeeps circled her, the gun swivelled on its pivot and lined her up.

“Tiene usted hecha las paces con su Dios?”

Before she could respond, Aníbal was joined by a bearded white man, who seemed to appear from thin air. He put a protective hand on her shoulder and stared at the man.

“Are you threatening nurses now, General?” he asked, in English.

Aníbal stared in disbelief as the earth seemed to shudder.

“Your drug running stops here, General. I will not accept any more incursions into Costa Rica or any of the humanitarian camps along the border.”

The ground continued to shudder, the jeep itself moving slightly from the vibrations.

“You will pack up your sick little operation, and throw yourselves on the mercy of these good people here. If you decide to make a run for the border, you’ll find that my reach is long and accurate.”

Aníbal expected gunfire. But the machine gun was now pointing to the ground, its operator running away from the area, zigzagging as the ground continued to groan. She cast a nervous glance around the awkward scene and counted eight uniformed men although they were struck by fear at the sight of this lone man. It was a surprise when the General lay down his weapons. And not a single shot had been fired.

Not only did Professor Quake take the General and his men into custody, literally entombing them to their waists in rock, he also remained at the hospice and assisted with the relief work. Aníbal had never met an uberman before and she was entranced. He introduced himself as Professor Quake and Aníbal found herself falling in love, possibly for the first time, although she deliberately avoided those kind of thoughts. The Order of Malta organised a debriefing for her and suggested she continue work with them at another location. She agreed and accompanied the Professor back to Costa Rica to contemplate her future.

Her days of contemplation grew into weeks and then months. Quake showed her the beauties of his adopted country, from the golden beaches to the mild plateaux and windswept mountains. He understood her passion, and she tried to understand his life, but it was difficult to fully understand a man who could command the very earth. Sometimes it scared her, and other times it left her breathless. Finally, she had to leave. Fra’Miguel was dying and not even the promise of love could stop Aníbal from returning to Brazil. When the Professor suggested he come along as well, Aníbal rejected him. She had never been so blunt or hurtful in her life, but the conflicting emotions she felt about love, religion, loyalty and her parents’ opinions drove her to cast off all ties.

Fra’Miguel lived for another six months before he died of cancer, but in that time Aníbal grew to embrace the Church in a new, more fulfilling way. She returned to the Bible and saw parallels between her life as a doctor and her life as a Catholic. It was during this time that she was contacted by the Order of Malta again, and agreed to return to her research. She moved to London and engaged research at King’s College before being co-opted into the Leprosy Unit of the WHO Communicable Disease Prevention, Control and Eradication department. She immersed herself in the research and moved around for several years concentrating her time in South and Central America, India and parts of South-east Asia. Her reputation grew and in 2003 she caught the attention of Southern Cross International with the release of a new, more effective version of MDT incorporating rifampicin, ofloxacin and a metagene enhanced strain of minocyline. The metagene supplement had been supplied posthumously by a young Venezuelan mutant with restorative powers. While the new drug cocktail was finite, it did provide new avenues for research and development: research and development that the Southern Cross organisation hoped to promote through the third-world countries of South and Latin America.

While being given a tour of a pharmaceutical company in Buenos Aires, Aníbal and several other scientists involved in the new MDT, were set upon by Professor Quake. He demanded that Aníbal defy Southern Cross: an organisation he was convinced had nothing but oppression in store for the people of South America. A savage abduction attempt ensued, although Aníbal and her associates were able to escape into the catacombs of the research facility. Security was torn apart and Aníbal soon found herself being hunted by her former lover. Her heart was racing and she knew that her time was running out, so when the Professor tore apart the walls of the room she was hiding in, Aníbal felt strangely at ease with the situation.

She was only saved by the bumbling intrusion of a security guard, who discharged his revolver and detonated three cylinders of radioactive gas. Aníbal was blown back through a containment tank and into the next room. Rather than kill her, however, the combination of chemicals, radiation and her latent metagene triggered a transformation in her body. Her body liquefied as she hit the wall, and then reformed itself into a strong and pliable form.

Professor Quake leapt through the hole in the wall and went to trap her in stone, but his attempts were unable to hold her: her body slipping out of his reach. Aníbal struck out wildly and found her body now possessed great strength as well as great flexibility. Her arms stretched out beyond what was humanly possible and her entire body seemed capable of anything. Seizing the moment, and taking advantage of the confusion she saw in her adversaries, Aníbal half-leapt and half-swung herself out of the four-storey building to land relatively safely in the compound below.

She looked back and saw the unmistakable look of sadness in the Professor's eyes. It reminded her of the expression she had seen on the night she had left him, back in Costa Rica, and she knew this was not finished.

Aníbal could not shake the idea that Professor Quake was right. She heard rumours of corruption and mistreatment of ubermen across Brazil, Peru and Argentina which had phantom links back to Southern Cross. She dug a little and discovered that her treatment had been used to produce medicine for the treatment of disease, but had also been grafted to be used in the training and development of uberhumans.

She was furious.

Aníbal returned to the university and confronted the Head of Department who confirmed what she had heard. Feeling deeply betrayed, and somewhat guilty about her treatment of Quake, Aníbal began to search for her former lover.

He was waiting for her and accepted her back into his life where she joined his team of Gauntlet in the hopes of uncovering the dirty little secrets of Southern Cross. Aníbal is unaware that Quake fabricated much of the information that led to her decision and he does not see his deceit as being anything but a way to get to the truth without having to waste time on thorough investigations.

Personality

Aníbal is a very grounded woman, and manages to keep perspective even in the most dire of circumstances. She does not get carried away in the moment, whether it be in social situations, heated debate or caught in the middle of a full-scale uberhuman battlefield. She is something of a killjoy, however, and has difficulty making connections with her team mates.

She is closest to Professor Quake but there has been no return to their romantic relationship although Aníbal is hopeful. She maintains her secret identity at the Federal University of Goias where she is a renowned expert on communicable diseases.

Quote

“There is no such thing as ‘acceptable losses’.”

Powers

Embrace’s body is composed of a super-strong and flexible matter, the result of her active metagene combining with a variety of chemicals and intense radiation. She is able to stretch her body up to 16m in one direction, and has developed an incredibly swift and seamless method of self-transport by swinging along with the use of her elongated limbs. She is also able to stretch herself through even the smallest of holes, such as keyholes, enabling her to infiltrate bases, escape holds and move quickly through obstacle courses.

Her body is practically invulnerable to conventional weaponry, and Embrace is able to extend her own body like a wall to provide a human barrier which she has used effectively to shield her team mates from high-powered gunfire.

Besides her uber abilities, Aníbal possesses great knowledge in the field of leprosy and communicable diseases.

Appearance

Aníbal Araujo is a tall, dark-skinned Brazilian woman with long black hair which is usually tied back in a ponytail as Anibal, or let loose as Embrace. As Embrace she wears a green bodysuit with lighter green gloves and long leggings which are cut in an 'E' design. She conceals her identity with the help of a domino mask.